Fated Encounters
by Frostheart D. Blaize
Summary: He didn't know how long he was here, fuck if he cared. But he knew one thing: he needed to escape - even if it cost him his life. With a death followed by another, Ace finds himself in a reality far from his and an option to attain a "normal life" - to live the life of another. But what is exactly is normal here? Marco wearing a suit? Definitely not normal


**FATED ENCOUNTERS**

_Prologue _

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_He laid there, sprawled pathetically on the dusted terrain whilst clutching his recently sported injury. Their confrontation had been short, it barely lasted for minutes, and quite frankly, it resulted into his defeat. Of course, the package came along with a badly burnt arm._

_His enemy gave him a piercing look, a gaze that told the freckled youth the he was fairly amused by his defeat. Without wasting any more precious minutes, the magma user glared in front at another of his 'targets'. "Now watch." He declared in such venomous tone that made the fire user's skin crawl in fear._

_That voice haunted him, echoing in his mind repeatedly in a vicious, never ending cycle. While he lied there, the damn bastard took this 'golden' opportunity of his to attack his defenseless little brother. His only brother left._

_The man trudge through him in a dash, arm quipped in crimson, glowing lava, as he made his way to decapitate the younger one. He tried to get up, to defend his sibling as much he could but no. the beaten, battered form of his protested and cried against his will. Against the gesture of saving his family._

_Time seemed to freeze, everything stilled. The dusty gusts of dirt ceased of any movement to had, all battles stood still. Only the cacophony of his haggard and harsh breathing ran within his ears, coming in an uneven pattern as they run through his dried lips while he struggled for beloved oxygen._

_Then they resumed, albeit slowly._

_He didn't think – he couldn't at all. He didn't stop – there was no need to. In his act had no doubts, no regrets as he scampered to catch the killing blow. Unhesitatingly, he ran and firmly planted his feet at the ground, in such vise to assure that he wouldn't stumble nor fall. The flame phased body morphed back to bone and flesh, guaranteeing that his body would act as a perfect human shield for his brother._

_Then it came._

_It punctured painfully through his bare chest. Piercing, scorching pang followed accompanied by a crunching noise for his bones and the disgusting stench of iron and freshly charred flesh. The searing torment did more than make him wince but he stood and stood unyieldingly. He couldn't fall. No. Not now. _

_Not until Luffy's safety was guaranteed. Not until he was assured that his brother would get out of this fuck hole alive._

_From that stance, he could see his brother's face. Pain, guilt, sorrow, despair, grief and, most of all, fear contorted his once radiant eyes in a dimmed, dull surface. The younger D's body convulsed in with every quivering breath he took, shaking his core in inconceivable dismay._

_The heated appendage withdrew, relieving his body of the stinging pain, I didn't take long before all strength, which he surprisingly still had, leave his battered form. Against his will, he fell to his knees, leaving the younger boy to catch his near dead corpse._

_As his last gesture to him, he looped his hand around his brother's back in a weak yet warm embrace, fingers gently brushing against the straw hat his brother always proudly carried along with him._

_His final words came out loving yet melancholic with traces of satisfaction and happiness when what's left of his life force slowly left his body._

"_Thank you ... for loving me ..."_

Heavy eyelids pried open, accompanied by raspy, uneven gasps. Dark orbs scoured along the area, absorbing the barely visible sight before him. He finally managed to retain his breath to its normal pace followed by closing his eyes.

'_Just a dream'_ he mused to sooth his heightened nerves. '_Just a dream'_

Ace opened his eyes once more. Of course, he was in that same, rotten shit hole he'd awoken to. The damned place housed him for months since his apparent death at Marineford. The freckled youth had no clue how or why he ended up at this godforsaken Hell but one thing was clear to him. This place, whatever the fuck it is, was not Marineford and his captors were not, in anyways, Marines.

He didn't how long he'd been here. Probably a couple of weeks or months ... pointless. He lost count a long time ago.

Lingering his sights at every crack and crevice his confinement had been an everyday obligation to him. That way, he'd know every nook and cranny this place's got and by pure luck, devised a plan to even escape this retched hell hole.

Oh, how he hated this sight. The faint light the small, barred window provided the room a somewhat eerie glow but nonetheless provided him with enough illumination to see the filthy, aged brick wall that fenced him from beyond. His hands were bound, chained to the cold he'd previously mentioned.

With his hands pinned and rendered immobile above him, the young brunette was left to sit cross legged at the mutually gross cement pavement of the room. A couple of good meters away opposite of the wall he'd been chained like a dog was a sleek metal door which he loathed ? Aside from the fact that by merely staring at it seemingly mocked him, that door served as the entrance where his captor will emerge whenever the bastard deemed it as 'playtime' with the freckled youth.

A loud, rusty creaking sound enveloped the room, snapping Ace from his train of thoughts. He glared in front of him or, more specifically, at the one in front of him. _'Speak of the devil and he shall come_' he mentally mused to himself.

Playfully wrapping his calloused fingers at what seemed to be a whip, he grinned hungrily at his captive. The grin was, to his displeasure, rewarded by a glare to could give not one but a thousand deaths to whomever it was directed at. Certainly vexed by this rude gesture, grabbed a fistful of his raven hair and none too gently shoving him upwards.

"What's with the long face, _dear_?" Oh, how he wanted to plant his solid, knuckles in his face. His words were laced with malice, the very same tone he used at their first 'play time' together. Ace shook his head to loosen the vise grip but, alas, the resistance was proven to be futile. The movement on caused the iron hold to go tighter.

"Still resisting, huh?" His lips drew closer and closer, barely an inch away from the prisoner. The freckled youth could feel his warm, revolting breath brush against his earlobes, visibly grimacing from its stench. "Well, we just have to break that now, don't we?"

"I'd _love_ to see you try." He ferociously snapped back, sarcasm and danger unhidden in his voice. He raised a foot at the man, effectively hitting him in the groin and making him stumble down. Ace's eyes glistened with a hint of amusement. Seeing this man, his tormentor on a daily basis, stumble down pathetically like that gave him a small slice of satisfaction.

"Still got some fight in ya, huh? Let's see if you'll last, bitch!" He raised the whip and slashed down.

The material connected with his skin, lacerating through his finely toned flesh. Searing pain jolted from the cut, leaving another wound along with the others from his previous treatments. A trail of vibrant crimson trailed down his muscled torso, leaving a fresh line of blood as it made its way to the cold cement. Despite the numerous injuries he'd acquired, he didn't not scream nor make a sound. All this pain was merely a pale comparison against the burning gash he gained in Marineford.

When he awakened in this place, the wound wasn't there but the bitchy pain was. His chest throbbed to unbearable measures, leaving him to squirm and writhe in pain. Each breath he took came in the price of an agonizing discomfort, yet he did not scream. So why scream now when you've endured through worse? He wasn't one to give this fucker the satisfaction he wanted.

Scarlet stains mixed along the grimy floor, filling the small space in echoes of constant dripping and pained grunts. Ace kept his jaw locked, teeth gritted in a tight vise. He remained quiet, resolve unwavering. However, the task become more difficult as the slashes came in a fiercer, stronger pace as he refused to submit to their bidding. But he had to endure it in hopes that someday he'd be away from this goddamn hellhole. Besides he wasn't one to give this fucker the satisfaction he wanted.

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_**Tada! It's done!**_

_**It's kinda ... meh. Dunno what it's called. One might ask "How!? How could you torture my poor Ace-san!?" Don't worry bro. I know dem feels. I don't know! It just came to me all of a sudden.**_

_**Please tell me whatcha think, reviews make authors happy!**_

_**Just remember this equation **_**Reviews + Readers = New Chapter**

_**That's all! Cheerios and Tata!**_


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